Teen Abortion Risks: A Medical Fact Sheet

Teens face a higher risk of suffering abortion related complications. This is true of both physical and emotional risks, including immediate, short-term and long-term complications.

Below is a listing of the findings of relevant medical studies for adolescents:

• Teens are 6 times more likely to attempt suicide if they have had an abortion in the last six months than are teenagers who have not had an abortion,¹ and four times more likely to commit suicide than adults who abort.^.2 A history of abortion is likely to be associated with adolescent suicidal thinking.¹ Overall, women who have abortions have a 6 times higher rate of suicide compared to women who carry to term.³

• Teens who abort are more likely to develop psychological problems,⁴ and are nearly three times more likely to be admitted to mental health hospitals than teens in general.⁵

• About 40% of teen abortions take place with no parental involvement,⁶ leaving parents in the dark about subsequent emotional or physical problems and putting them at risk for further injury and death.⁷

• Teens are 5 times more likely to seek subsequent help for psychological and emotional problems compared to their peers who carry “unwanted pregnancies” to term.⁸

• Teens are 3 times more likely to report subsequent trouble sleeping, and nine times more likely to report subsequent marijuana use after abortion.⁸

• Among studies comparing abortion vs. carrying to term, worse outcomes are associated with abortion, even when the pregnancy is unplanned.⁸

• Teens are more likely to abort because of pressure from their parents or partner.⁹ In one study, 64% of women who had undergone an abortion reported that they felt pressured by others to abort.¹⁰

• Teens are more likely to report being misinformed in pre-abortion counseling.¹¹

Acute Pain. Infertility. Risk of Death.

• Acute pain. Teens report more severe pain during the abortion procedure than do adult women.¹²

• Lacerations up to twice as likely. Teens face twice the risk of cervical lacerations during abortion compared to older women.¹³

• Infertility and life-threatening complications. Studies have found that adolescents are at higher risk for post-abortion infections such as pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) and endometritis.¹⁴ These infections increase their risk of infertility, hysterectomy, ectopic pregnancy, and other serious complications.¹⁵

• Higher breast cancer risk for teens.  An early full-term birth reduces breast cancer risk by as much as 1/3, while abortion of a first pregnancy carries a 30- to 50% increased risk of breast cancer.¹⁶ More than 90% of those who abort at 17 or younger have not had a previous full-term pregnancy, compared to 78% of patients age 18-19 and 49% of abortion patients overall.¹⁷

• Teens are more likely to have riskier late-term abortions. According to the CDC, approximately 30% of abortions among teens take place at 13 weeks gestation or greater, compared to only 12% among women in general.¹⁸ Late-term abortions are associated with more severe psychological problems,¹⁹ higher risk of physical complications,²⁰ and problems in later pregnancies.²¹

Grief, trauma and self-destructive outcomes

• Teens who abort are twice as likely as their peers to abuse alcohol, marijuana, or cocaine.²²

• Teens have a greater risk of difficulty coping after abortion,²³ leading to problems such as suicide, psychological problems,substance abuse, and difficulty in relationships.

• Negative effects on relationships and parenting. Adolescents who report “being particularly fond of children” do not do as well psychologically after an abortion.²⁴ Teens who have abortions often have later problems regarding sexuality and parenting.²⁵

• A lonely, traumatic experience. The abortion procedure itself is considered by many teens to be stressful and associated with feelings of guilt, depression, and a sense of isolation.²⁶

• A nightmare that doesn’t end. Teens are more likely to report severe nightmares and to score higher on scales measuring antisocial traits, paranoia, drug abuse, and psychotic delusions than are older abortion patients.²⁷

• Four times higher risk of repeat abortion. Teenagers who abort are likely to become pregnant again within the next few years.²⁸ Among pregnant teens, those who had had an abortion were at least 4 times more likely to abort.²⁹

Articles Related to Abortion Risks for Teens

• Teens Face More Mental Health Risks From Abortion Than From Bearing an Unplanned Pregnancy
• Teens Cope With Unwanted Births Better Than Abortion: New Study
• Adolescents and Abortion: A Comprehensive Bibliography of Relevant Medical Studies
• When Young Girls Are Manipulated Into Abortion
• Download a PDF version of Teen Abortion Risks: Fact Sheet

References to Teen Abortion Risks

1. Garfinkel et al., “Stress, Depression and Suicide: A Study of Adolescents in Minnesota,” Responding to High Risk Youth (U. of Minnesota: Minnesota Extension Service, 1986)
2. Gissler et. al., “Suicides After Pregnancy in Finland: 1987-94: register linkage study,” British Medical Journal, 313: 1431-1434, 1996; Campbell, et. al., “Abortion in Adolescence,” Adolescence, 23:813-823, 1988.
3. Gissler, op. cit.,; Gissler, “Injury deaths, suicides and homicides associated with pregnancy, Finland 1987-2000,” European J. Public Health 15(5):459-63, 2005. See also Reardon et. al., “Deaths Associated With Pregnancy Outcome: A Record Linkage Study of Low Income Women,” Southern Medical Journal 95(8):834-41, Aug. 2002.
4. Franz and Reardon, “Differential Impact of Abortion on adolescents and adults,” Adolescence, 27 (105), 172, 1992.
5. Somers, “Risk of Admission to Psychiatric Institutions Among Danish Women Who Experienced Induced Abortion: An Analysis Based on National Report Linkage” (Ph.D. Dissertation, Los Angeles: University of California, 1979, Disseration Abstracts International, Public Health 2621-B, Order No. 7926066)
6. “Teenage Pregnancy: Overall Trends and State-by-State Information,” Report by the Alan Guttmmacher Institute, Washington, DC, www.agi.org.
7. For more information, see www.theunchoice.com/teens.htm
8. Coleman, “Resolution of Unwanted Pregnancy During Adolescence Through Abortion Versus Childbirth: Individual and Family Predictors and Psychological Consequences,” Journal of Youth and Adolescence (2006).
9. Barglow and Weinstein, “Therapeutic Abortion During Adolescence: Psychiatric Observations,” Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 2(4):33, 1973.
10. Rue et. al., “Induced abortion and traumatic stress: A preliminary comparison of American and Russian women,” Medical Science Monitor 10(10): SR5-16, 2004.
11. Franz and Reardon, “Differential Impact of Abortion on adolescents and adults,” Adolescence, 27 (105), 172, 1992.
12. Belanger, et. al., “Pain of First Trimester Abortion: A Study of Psychosocial and Medical Predictors,” Pain, 36:339; Smith, et. al., “Pain of first-trimester abortion: Its quantification and relationships with other variables,” American Journal Obstetrics & Gynecology, 133:489, 1979.
13. Burkman, et. al., “Morbidity Risk Among Young Adolescents Undergoing Elective Abortion,” Contraception, 30(2):99, 1984; Schulz, et. al., “Measures to Prevent Cervical Injury During Suction Curettage Abortion,” The Lancet, 1182-1184, May 28, 1993.
14. Burkman, et. al., “Culture and treatment results in endometritis following elective abortion,” American J. Obstet. & Gynecol., 128:556, 1997; Avonts and Piot, “Genital infections in women undergoing induced abortion,” European J. Obstet. & Gynecol. & Reproductive Biology, 20:53, 1985; Cates, “Teenagers and Sexual Risk-Taking: The Best of Times and the Worst of Times,” Journal of Adolescent Health, 12:84, 1991.
15. “Teenage Pregnancy: Overall Trends and State-by-State Information,” Report by the Alan Guttmmacher Institute, Washington, DC, www.agi.org.
16. Brind et. al., “Induced abortion as an independent risk factor for breast cancer: a comprehensive review and analysis,” J. Epidemiology & Community Health, 50:481, 1996.
17. Kochanck, “Induced Terminations of Pregnancy, Reporting States 1988,” Monthly Vital Statistics Report, 39(12): Suppl. 1-32, April 30, 1991.
18. Strahan, “Differential Adverse Impact on Teenagers Who Undergo Induced Abortion,” Association for Interdisciplinary Research Bulletin, 15(1):3, March/April 2000.
19. Strahan, “Psycho-Social Aspects of Late-Term Abortions,” Assoc. For Interdisciplinary Research Bulletin, 14(4):1, 2000.
20. Burkman, American J. Obstet. & Gynecol. op. cit; Lurie and Shoham, “Induced Midtrimester Abortion and Future Fertility: Where Are We Today?” International J. of Fertility, 40(6):311, 1995.
21. Atrash and Hogue, “The effect of pregnancy termination on future reproduction,” Baillieres Clinic Obstet. & Gynecol., 4(2):391, 1990; Rooney, “Is Cerebral Palsy Ever a Choice?” The Post-Abortion Review, 8(4):4-5, Oct.-Dec. 2000.
22. Amaro, et al., “Drug use among adolescent mothers: profile of risk,” Pediatrics, 84, 1989, 144-150.
23. Horowitz, “Adolescent Mourning Reactions to Infant and Fetal Loss,” Soc. Casework, 59:551, 1978.
24. Smith, “A follow-up study of women who request abortion,” American Journal of Orthopsychiatry,” 1973, 43: 574-585.
25. Zakus and Wilday, “Adolescent Abortion Option.” Social Work in Health Care, 12, 1987, 77-91.
26. Biro, et al., “Acute and Long-Term Consequences of Adolescents Who Choose Abortions,” Pediatric Annals, 15(10):667-672, 1986.
27. Campbell, et. al., “Abortion in Adolescence,” Adolescence, 23:813-823, 1988.
28. Wheeler, “Adolescent Pregnancy Loss,” in Woods, Jr. Woods (eds.), Loss During Pregnancy or the Newborn Period (1997); Cvejic et. al., “Follow-up of 50 adolescent girls 2 years after abortion,” Canadian Medical Assoc. Journal, 116:44, 1997.
29. Joyce, “The Social and Economic Correlates of Pregnancy Resolution Among Adolescents in New York by Race and Ethnicity: A Mulitvariate Analysis,” American J. of Public Health, 78(6):626, 1988.

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